Cooking Orzo

Greek Meatballs With Tzatziki and Herbed Orzo

These meatballs are great served on their own for an appetizer, or delicious as an entrée with orzo flavored with fruity extra virgin olive oil and fresh herbs, as I served here. They come together and cook very quickly, and are a nice change from your typical Italian spaghetti and meatballs; it’s lighter and full of fresh, bright flavors. The accompanying tzatziki, which is a Mediterranean condiment that typically consists of cucumber, mint, and thick Greek yogurt, is a perfect alternative to a heavy tomato sauce, and its tanginess is perfect with the slightly gamey flavor of the lamb. Make the tzatziki a couple of hours before you plan on serving it to give the flavors time to really come together. If you don’t eat lamb or are having a hard time finding ground lamb, ground beef is a great alternative in this dish. The recipe calls for fresh herbs in the meatballs, and while you can use dried, the flavor won’t be as good as with fresh.

Greek Meatballs with Tzatziki and Herbed Orzo

Ingredients:

Yields about 14 2-inch meatballs

1 lb ground lamb

¼ cup finely chopped onion

¼ cup chopped fresh parsley + 2 tbsp

2 tsp chopped fresh oregano +1 tsp

2 tsp chopped fresh mint +1 tsp

1 egg, lightly beaten

About half a cup feta, diced or crumbled

½ lb orzo

1/3 cup chopped kalamata olives

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, or to taste

Tzatziki, for serving (recipe below)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. Combine ground lamb, onion, ¼ cup parsley, 2 tsp oregano, 2 tsp mint, and egg. Be sure to not overwork. Form into 2 inch meatballs. Make an indentation in the center of each, and put a small piece of feta in each meatball, then reforming the meat mixture around it.

2. Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through but still moist.

3. Meanwhile, cook the orzo according to package directions in salted, boiling water. Drain, and then add in the remaining herbs and olives. Add in extra virgin olive oil to taste.

4. Serve the meatballs over the orzo, with tzatziki sauce.

Tzaziki

Ingredients:

Makes about ¾ cup

½ cup, or 1 6-oz container Greek yogurt

½ English cucumber, grated

Juice of ½ lemon, or to taste

2 tbsp chopped fresh mint

1 small clove garlic, made into a paste*

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. In a colander, combine cucumber with about 1 tsp salt and let sit for about 15 minutes to get rid of excess moisture in the cucumber. Rinse.

2. Combine the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

 

 

*This can be done by first mincing the garlic finely, adding salt, and then sort of “smearing” it on the cutting board with the flat side of a knife.

Visit www.allmediany.com for more recipes!

About the Author

Jessica Verderame is a staff writer for AllMediaNY.com.

Cooking Substitute – Orzo

 

Cooking Orzo

What is the Cooking Tips for the 21st Century?

In the golden days of TV moms stayed home all day vacuuming the house while wearing pearls, cooking special meals, and doling out wise advice to the kids when dad wasn’t around. Meals could take all day and could involve many intricate steps and that wasn’t just on TV, it was a reflection of real life as well.

In comparison, the 21st century world is one of amazing technology and lives that are much faster paced. Mothers and fathers who now take on a large part of the cooking chore, look for easy fast dinner recipes that can get the same TV mom results with a lot less real person effort. The Pilgrims didn’t have a good source for such simplicity in food, but they didn’t have the Internet either. There are a lot of sources on line to provide help to the busy family looking for a quality meal.

One steak can go a long way. Change the sides for different meal experiences. Change the spices for a trip around the world of food. Start with one large flank steak. On Monday serve steak with roasted potatoes and a salad. On Tuesday add some spices and a little salsa for a taste from south of the border and make it steak Fajitas. Wednesday’s meal combines the steak with some Teriyaki sauce, rice, and steamed vegetables for a delicious Asian inspired meal. Thursday go back to the steak and salad, this time with mashed potatoes and asparagus on the side. Friday is the day for some pita bread and Greek spices. That’s right, Gyros. A whole work day week of meals based on one main meat.

Want more ideas for that steak? OK, get the plates, glasses, spoons and forks ready. Try southwestern steak, corn, and black bean wraps; give mixed bean salad with flank steak a whirl; how about lentil and orzo salad with flank steak and feta cheese; enjoy steak, sun-dried tomato, and mozzarella couscous salad; and finally we have steak salad wraps with horseradish sauce. Now add another meat, and the variety is even more endless. Chicken can be fried, broiled with potatoes, cut into strips and added to salad, or cooked into a soup with noodles or dumplings. Talk about meal variety.

With just a little clever planning all the meals for the week can be cooked on the weekend, then heated and served in minutes during the week. Make out the menu for the whole month, buy bulk foods and make sure to use coupons to add extreme savings to the mix. In fact, these menus and meals can also be a great learning experience for young people or college students. Put them in charge for a week or let the whole family take turns from week to week. And you thought easy fast dinner recipes were hard.

About the Author

When should i put orzo pasta in with my soup so it does not become mushy or overdone…?

can i reduce heat after i cook it? cook seperate and add or what? i need help thanks.

Wait until the last 5 minutes, and add raw orzo. Orzo pasta cooks very quickly. Before you take the soup out of the pot, test the noodles and see if they are ready. If they are not ready, let it cook for a little bit longer. But, stand by the pot to avoid overcooking them.

What can cooks do when missing ingredients? Substitution book to the rescue
Who hasn’t been in the midst of cooking a special dish and been faced with the “missing ingredient” syndrome? It goes like this: You are about to commence making a hearty winter soup containing vegetables and pearl barley.

Home Cooking – Orzo Pasta With Shrimp

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